Category: Access & Censorship

Brushing aside protests by press-freedom advocates and heroes of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, the parliament overwhelmingly passed a contentious bill on Tuesday that will severely restrict the ability of journalists to report any information deemed to be a government secret.

Over several days, New York cops have arrested, punched, whacked, shoved to the ground and tossed a barrier at reporters and photographers.

Stu Loeser, a spokesman for New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg, says the best way for reporters to avoid being arrested while covering Occupy Wall Street is to carry a press pass issued by the New York Police Department. [UPDATE: Loeser says that’s not what he meant. Details below.]

But the NYPD isn’t issuing press passes to reporters covering Occupy Wall Street, as we learned when we contacted them Thursday.

The city blog Gothamist put it this way: “The NYPD Didn’t Want You To See Occupy Wall Street Get Evicted.”

Below the man’s body was a partially obscured and blood-stained blanket. Written on the blanket in black ink: “Hi I’m ‘Rascatripas’ and this happened to me because I didn’t understand I shouldn’t post things on social networks.”

Jonathan Doyle, a performance artist, has appealed a case involving his right to film bigfoot skits in New Hampshire’s Monadnock State Park to the NH Supreme Court. He argues that the permit requirements are unduly onerous for small-scale productions

TODAY, the nation welcomes back nine justices who toil quietly and, for the most part, outside public view. But there is no reason the public should be denied access to their consideration of and arguments about urgent questions — from global warming to health care — that affect us all. Cameras in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court are long overdue.